2 Samuel

CHAPTER 1

And it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag.
2 And it came about on the third day, behold, a man came out of the encampment from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.
3 And David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the encampment of Israel.”
4 David said to him, “How did the matter go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Yehnathan his son are dead also.”
5 And David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Yehnathan are dead?”
6 And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen followed hard after him.
7 When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’
8 He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
9 Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, because my life is yet whole in me.’
10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, as did all the men with him.
12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Yehnathan his son, and for the people of YEHOWAH, and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 And David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”
14 Then David said to him, “How were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy YEHOWAH’S anointed?”
15 And David called one of the young men and said, “Go near and fall upon him.” So he struck him and he died.
16 David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed YEHOWAH’S anointed.'”
17 Then David chanted with this lament over Saul and Yehnathan his son,
18 and he commanded that they teach the children of Yehudah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.
19 “The beauty of Israel is slain upon your high places! How the mighty have fallen!
20 Tell not in Gath, proclaim not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice; the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
21 You hills of Gilboa; let neither dew nor rain be upon you, nor fields of offerings; for there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away; the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Yehnathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
23 Saul and Yehnathan, loved and pleasant in their life, and in their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
24 You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
25 How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Yehnathan is slain on your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Yehnathan; very pleasant were you unto. Your love to me was wonderful; more than the love of women.
27 How have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”

CHAPTER 2

And it came to pass afterwards, that David inquired of YEHOWAH, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Yehudah?” And YEHOWAH said to him, “Go up.” So David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.”
2 So David went there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.
3 And his men who were with him, David brought up; each with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hebron.
4 And the men of Yehudah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Yehudah. And they told David, saying, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “May you be blessed of YEHOWAH, because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord, and have buried him.
6 Now may YEHOWAH show lovingkindness and truth to you; and I also will requite you this goodness, because you have done this thing;
7 therefore, let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Yehudah has anointed me king over them.”
8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,
9 and he made him king over Gilead, over the Asshurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benyahmin, even over all Israel.
10 Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. But the house of Yehudah followed David.
11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Yehudah was seven years and six months.
12 Now Abner the son of Ner, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul.
13 And Yehab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, one on the one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool.
14 Then Abner said to Yehab, “Now let the young men rise up and make sport before us.” And Yehab said, “Let them rise up.”
15 So they rose up and went over by count, twelve for Benyahmin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
16 And they caught each one of them, their fellow by his head and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
17 And the battle that day was very severe, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.
18 And there were three sons of Zeruiah there: Yehab and Abishai and Asahel; and Asahel was as swift-footed as one of the gazelles, which is in the field.
19 And Asahel pursued Abner and did not turn to the right or to the left from following Abner.
20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.”
21 So Abner said to him, “Turn to your right or to your left, and take hold of one of the young men for yourself, and take for yourself his spoil.” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following him.
22 And Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Yehab?”
23 But he refused to turn aside; therefore Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died at that place. And it came about that all who came to the place, where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.
24 But Yehab and Abishai pursued Abner, and the sun went down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
25 And the children of Benyahmin gathered together behind Abner and became one band, and they stood on the top of a hill.
26 Then Abner called to Yehab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? And how long will you refrain from telling the people to turn back from following their brothers?”
27 And Yehab said, “As Elohim lives, unless you had spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone away, each from following his brother.”
28 So Yehab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no longer, nor did they continue to fight anymore.
29 Then Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain; and passed over the Jordan, walked through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.
30 And Yehab returned from following Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen of David’s servants besides Asahel were missing.
31 But the servants of David had struck down many of Benyahmin and Abner’s men, and three hundred and sixty men died.
32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb that was in Bethlehem. Then Yehab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at the break of day.

CHAPTER 3

And the war was long between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David grew continually stronger, but the house of Saul grew continually weaker.
2 And sons were begat to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
3 and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maachah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;
4 and the fourth, Adoniyah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiyah the son of Abital;
5 and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were begat to David at Hebron.
6 And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul.
7 Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?”
8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “Am I a dog’s head, I who against Yehudah do show kindness this day to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hands of David; that you charge me this day with a fault concerning the woman?
9 May Elohim do so to Abner, and more also, if as YEHOWAH has sworn to David, even so I do to him,
10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Yehudah, from Dan even to Beersheba.”
11 And he could not answer Abner even a word, because he was afraid of him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers to David in his place, saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.”
13 He said, “Good! I will make a covenant with you, but the one thing I require of you is this, namely, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me.”
14 So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Deliver to me my wife Michal, who was espoused to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.”
15 And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.
16 And her husband went with her, weeping as he followed her to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, and return.” So he returned.
17 Now Abner had consultation with the elders of Israel, saying, “In times past you sought for David to be king over you,
18 now then, do it! For YEHOWAH has spoken of David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.'”
19 And Abner also spoke in the hearing of Benyahmin; and in addition Abner went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and to the whole house of Benyahmin.
20 Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.
21 And Abner said to David, “I will rise up and go, and gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may be king over all that your soul desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
22 And behold, the servants of David and Yehab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.
23 When Yehab and all the army that was with him came, they told Yehab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.”
24 Then Yehab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you sent him away and he is gone in peace?
25 You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive you and to learn of your going out and coming in and to find out all that you are doing.”
26 And when Yehab came out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David knew it not.
27 So when Abner returned to Hebron, Yehab took him aside into the middle of the city, to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly so that he died; for the blood of Asahel his brother.
28 And afterward David heard, and he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before YEHOWAH forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.
29 May it fall on the head of Yehab, and on all his father’s house; and may there not fail from the house of Yehab one who has an issue, or who is a leper, or who takes hold of a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”
30 So Yehab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.
31 And David said to Yehab, and to all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the litter.
32 And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.
33 And the king mourned for Abner and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies?
34 Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters; as one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.” And all the people wept again over him.
35 Then all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was still day; but David swore, saying, “May Elohim do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down.”
36 And all the people took notice, and it pleased them, just as everything the king did pleased all the people.
37 And all the people, and all Israel, understood that day that it had not been of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death.
38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?
39 I am weak this day, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me. May YEHOWAH repay the evildoer according to his evil.”

CHAPTER 4

When Saul’s son, heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were weak, and all Israel was disturbed.
2 And Saul’s son had two men who were captains of troops: the name of the one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benyahmin (for Beeroth is also reckoned with Benyahmin,
3 and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been aliens there until this day).
4 Now Yehnathan, Saul’s son, had a son lame of foot. He was five years old when the news of Saul and Yehnathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it came to pass, that in her haste to flee, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
5 So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite; Rechab and Baanah, departed and came to the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest,
6 and they came into the midst of the house, as if to fetch wheat, and they struck him in the belly; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
7 But when they came into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and killed him and beheaded him. And they took his head and traveled by way of the wilderness all night.
8 And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David in Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus YEHOWAH has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his seed.”
9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As YEHOWAH lives, who has redeemed my soul from all distress,
10 when one told me, saying, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking he brought good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news;
11 how much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous man in his own house, on his bed? Shall I not now require his blood from your hand and destroy you from the earth?”
12 Then David commanded the young men, and they killed them, and cut off their hands and feet, and hung them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.

CHAPTER 5

Then came all the tribes of Israel to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
2 As in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and in. And YEHOWAH said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over Israel.'”
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before YEHOWAH at Hebron; and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 And David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.
5 At Hebron he reigned over Yehudah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Yehudah.
6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to David, “The blind and the lame will drive you back; you shall not come in here,” thinking, “David cannot enter here.”
7 Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, which is the city of David.
8 And David said on that day, “Whoever goes up the gutter shall strike the Jebusites, including the lame and the blind; who are hated by David’s soul.” Therefore they said, “The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.”
9 So David dwelt in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward.
10 And David grew great, and YEHOWAH Elohim of hosts was with him.
11 Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.
12 And David knew that YEHOWAH had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were begat to David.
14 Now these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,
16 Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.
17 And when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek out David; and when David heard, he went down to the stronghold.
18 Now the Philistines came and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim.
19 And David inquired of YEHOWAH, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You give them into my hand?” And YEHOWAH said to David, “Go up, for I will surely give the Philistines into your hand.”
20 So David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there; and he said, “YEHOWAH has broken forth upon my enemies before me as a breach of waters.” Therefore he named that place Baal-perazim.
21 And there they left their idols there, so David and his men carried them away.
22 Now the Philistines came up once again and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim.
23 When David inquired of YEHOWAH, He said, “You shall not go up; but circle around behind them and come at them opposite the mulberry trees.
24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall act promptly, for then YEHOWAH will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”
25 And David did so, just as YEHOWAH had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.

CHAPTER 6

And David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
2 And David rose up and went with all the people with him to Baale-Yehudah, to bring up from there the Ark of Elohim, whose name is called by the Name, the very name of YEHOWAH of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.
3 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on a hill, and placed the Ark of Elohim on a new cart; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, led the new cart.
4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinidab, which was at Gibeah, and Ahio was walking ahead of the Ark.
5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before YEHOWAH with all manner of instruments of fir wood; and with harps, lyres, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.
6 But when they came to the threshing floor of Nachon, Uzzah stretched forth to the Ark of Elohim and took hold of it, for the oxen had stumbled.
7 And the anger of YEHOWAH was kindled against Uzzah, and Elohim struck him there for his error; and he died there by the Ark of Elohim.
8 And David became angry because YEHOWAH broke forth against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.
9 So David was afraid of YEHOWAH that day; and he said, “How can the Ark of YEHOWAH come to me?”
10 And David would not bring the Ark of YEHOWAH home unto himself, into the city of David; but David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
11 And the Ark of YEHOWAH remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and YEHOWAH blessed Obed-edom and all his household
12 And it was told King David, saying, “YEHOWAH has blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that belongs to him, on account of the Ark of Elohim.” And David went and brought up the Ark of Elohim from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness.
13 And so it was, that when the bearers of the Ark of YEHOWAH had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
14 And David danced before YEHOWAH with all his might, and David was girded with a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the Ark of YEHOWAH with shouting, and the sound of the trumpet.
16 And as the Ark of YEHOWAH came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before YEHOWAH; and she despised him in her heart.
17 And they brought in the Ark of YEHOWAH and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before YEHOWAH.
18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of YEHOWAH of hosts.
19 And he gave to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to women and men, a cake of bread, a good piece of meat and a measure of wine. And all the people departed each to their house.
20 Then David returned to bless his household, but Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How glorious did the king of Israel make himself today, who uncovered himself this day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!”
21 And David said to Michal, “It was before YEHOWAH, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of YEHOWAH, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before YEHOWAH.
22 And I will yet be more vile than this, and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the handmaids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be honored.”
23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

CHAPTER 7

And it came to pass when the king dwelled in his house, and YEHOWAH had given him rest round about from all his enemies,
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of Elohim dwells within curtains of a tent.”
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for YEHOWAH is with you.”
4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of YEHOWAH came to Nathan, saying,
5 “Go and say to My servant David, ‘Thus says YEHOWAH, “Shall you build Me a house for Me to dwell in?
6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the children of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle.
7 In all My going about with all the children of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'”
8 Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says YEHOWAH of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.
9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like unto the name of the great men who are on the earth.
10 And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more; neither shall the children of the wicked afflict them any more, as formerly,
11 as from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. YEHOWAH also declares to you that YEHOWAH will make a house for you.
12 And when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 And He will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be his father and he will be My son; when he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the strokes of the sons of men,
15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 And your house and your kingdom shall remain firm before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”‘”
17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.
18 Then David the king went in and sat before YEHOWAH, and he said, “Who am I, O Master YEHOWAH, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
19 And yet this has been a small thing in Your eyes, O Master YEHOWAH, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning a great while, which is the manner of man, O Master YEHOWAH.
20 And what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Master YEHOWAH!
21 For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know.
22 For this reason You are great, O Master YEHOWAH; for there is none like You, and there is no Elohim besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
23 And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom Elohim went to redeem for Himself as a people, and to make for Himself a name, and to do for them great and terrible things; for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, nations and their elohim?
24 For You have established for Yourself Your people Isreal as Your own people forever, and You, O YEHOWAH, have become their Elohim.
25 Now therefore, O YEHOWAH Elohim, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as You have said,
26 that Your name may be magnified forever, saying, ‘YEHOWAH of hosts is Elohim over Israel’; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You.
27 For You, O YEHOWAH of hosts, the Elohim of Israel, have revealed to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer unto You.
28 Now, O Master YEHOWAH, You are Elohim, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant,
29 and now, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Master YEHOWAH, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”

CHAPTER 8

And after this it came about that David struck the Philistines and subdued them; and David took control of Methegammah from the hand of the Philistines.
2 And he struck Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
3 Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his dominion at the Euphrates.
4 David captured from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved of them for one hundred chariots.
5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed twenty two thousand Syrians.
6 Then David put garrisons among the Syrians of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David, bringing tribute. And YEHOWAH delivered David wherever he went.
7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem;
8 from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very much of brass.
9 Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer,
10 Toi sent Yehoram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and killed him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And he brought with him articles of silver, and articles of gold, and articles of brass,
11 which King David also dedicated to YEHOWAH, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations that he had subdued:
12 from Syria and Moab and the sons of Ammon and the Philistines and Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 So David made for himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the valley of salt.
14 And he put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And YEHOWAH delivered David wherever he went.
15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice for all his people.
16 And Yehab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Yehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder.
17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Serayah was secretary.
18 Benayah the son of Yehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.

CHAPTER 9

And David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Yehnathan’s sake?”
2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “Your servant!”
3 The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of Elohim to him?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Yehnathan who is lame in both feet.”
4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.”
5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar.
6 And Mephibosheth, the son of Yehnathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Behold, your servant!”
7 And David said to him, “Fear not, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Yehnathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table continually.”
8 Again he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”
9 Then the king called Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “I have given to your lord’s son all that belonged to Saul’s house.
10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce, so that your lord’s son may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your lord’s son shall eat at my table continually.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.
12 And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mikayah. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.
13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king’s table continually; and he was lame in both feet.

CHAPTER 10

And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.
2 And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.
3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David is honoring your father, because he has sent comforters to you? Is it not to search the city and spy it out, and behold, to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to you?”
4 Therefore, Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off the half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When they told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”
6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves offensive to David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of Maachah with one thousand men, and of Ishtob with twelve thousand men.
7 And When David heard, he sent Yehab and all the army, the mighty men.
8 And the children of Ammon came out and set in battle array at the entrance of the city, while the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Ishtob and Maachah were by themselves in the field.
9 When Yehab saw that the battle was set against him in front and in the rear, he selected from all the choice men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Syrians,
10 and the remainder of the people he placed in the hand of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the sons of Ammon.
11 And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you.
12 Be of good courage, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our Elohim; and may YEHOWAH do what is good in His sight.”
13 So Yehab and the people with him drew near to the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.
14 When the sons of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Yehab returned from the children of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.
15 When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together.
16 And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the army of Hadadezer led them.
17 Now when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians arrayed themselves to meet David and fought against him.
18 But the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred charioteers of the Syrians and forty thousand horsemen and struck down Shobach the captain of their army, and he died there.
19 And when all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

CHAPTER 11

And it came to pass in the spring, at the time when kings go forth, that David sent Yehab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.
2 And when evening came David rose up from his bed and walked about on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriyah the Hittite?”
4 And David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
5 And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
6 Then David sent to Yehab saying, “Send me Uriyah the Hittite.” So Yehab sent Uriyah to David.
7 When Uriyeh had come to him, David inquired concerning the welfare of Yehab and the people and how the war prospered.
8 Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” And Uriyah went out of the king’s house, and gifts from the king followed after him.
9 But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10 And when they told David, saying, “Uriyeh did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
11 Uriyah said to David, “The Ark and Israel and Yehudah abide in tens, and my lord Yehab and the servants of my lord are encamping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.”
12 Then David said to Uriyah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will let you go.” So Uriyah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13 And David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and he made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.
14 Now in the morning David wrote a letter to Yehab and sent it by the hand of Uriyah.
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Put Uriyah in the forefront of the hottest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”
16 And it came to pass as Yehab kept watch on the city, that he put Uriyah at the place where he knew the valiant men were.
17 And the men of the city went out and fought against Yehab, and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and Uriyah the Hittite also died.
18 Then Yehab sent and reported to David all the matters of the war.
19 And he charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king,
20 and if it be so that the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ Then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriyah the Hittite is dead also.'”
22 So the messenger went, and came and reported to David all that Yehab had sent.
23 The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate.
24 And the archers shot from off the wall at your servants; so some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriyah the Hittite is also dead.”
25 Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Yehab, ‘Let not this thing grieve you, for the sword devours one as well as another; make your battle strong against the city and overthrow it’; and encourage him.”
26 And when the wife of Uriyah heard that Uriyah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; and she begat him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of YEHOWAH.

CHAPTER 12

And YEHOWAH sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said unto him, “There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich had very many flocks and herds,
3 but the poor had nothing except one little ewe lamb that he bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4 And there came a traveler to the rich man, and he spared to take from his own flock or his own herd, to prepare it for the wayfarer who had come to him; rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As YEHOWAH lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.
6 He must restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”
7 And Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says YEHOWAH Elohim of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul;
8 and I gave you your lord’s house and your lord’s wives into your bosom, and I gave you the house of Israel and Yehudah; and if too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!
9 Why have you despised the commandment of YEHOWAH by doing evil in His sight? You have killed Uriyeh the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him by the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriyeh the Hittite to be your wife.’
11 Thus says YEHOWAH, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the light of the day.
12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, in the light of day.'”
13 And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against YEHOWAH.” And Nathan said to David, “YEHOWAH also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.
14 However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of YEHOWAH to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”
15 So Nathan went to his house. And YEHOWAH struck the child that Uriyeh’s widow begat to David, so that he became very sick.
16 David therefore inquired of Elohim for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground,
17 and the elders of his house rose up beside him to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.
18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was alive, we spoke to him and he did not hear our voice. And how can we say to him, ‘The child is dead,’ as he might do some harm?”
19 But when David saw his servants whispering, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”
20 Then David rose up from the ground, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of YEHOWAH and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate.
21 Then said his servants to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you rose up and ate food.”
22 And he said, “While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, YEHOWAH may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’
23 “But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her; and she begat a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now YEHOWAH loved him
25 and sent through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiyeh for YEHOWAH’S sake.
26 Now Yehab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon and captured the royal city.
27 And Yehab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters.
28 Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be called by my name.”
29 So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, and fought against it and captured it.
30 And he took the crown of their king from his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones; and it was on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great amounts.
31 He also brought out the people who were in it, and put them under saws, and threshing-sledges, and iron implements, and made them pass through the brick kiln. And thus he did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.

CHAPTER 13

And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her.
2 Amnon was so distressed because of his sister Tamar that he made himself ill, for she was a virgin, and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.
3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Yehnadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother; and Yehnadab was a very cunning man.
4 And he said to him, “Why do you, the king’s son, pine away from day to day? Will you not tell me?” Then Amnon said to him, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom.”
5 Yehnadab then said to him, “Lie down on your bed and make yourself as ill; and when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food to eat, and let her prepare the food in my sight, that I may see and eat from her hand.'”
6 So Amnon lay down as if ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”
7 So David sent to the house for Tamar, saying, “Go now to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.”
8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying down. And she took flour, kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.
9 She took the pan and dished them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Put everyone out from me.” So everyone went out from him.
10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes that she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother Amnon.
11 When she brought to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”
12 But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not humble me, for such a thing ought not be done in Israel; do not this villany!
13 As for me, how can I get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”
14 However, he would not hear her; and since he was stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Rise up and be gone!”
16 But she said to him, “There is no cause to send me away; but this wrong is greater than the other that you have done to me!” Yet he would not hear her.
17 Then he called his servant who attended him and said, “Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door behind her.”
18 Now she had on a coat of many colors; for with such coats the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves. Then his servant took her out and bolted the door behind her.
19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her coat of many colors that was on her; and she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
20 And Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now, my sister, keep silent, he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.
21 But when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry.
22 And Absalom did not speak to Amnon either good or bad; for Absalom hated Amnon because he had humbled his sister Tamar.
23 And it came to pass about after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.
24 Absalom came to the king and said, “Behold now, your servant has sheepshearers; please let the king and his servants go with your servant.”
25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” And he urged him, yet he would not go, but blessed him.
26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”
27 But when Absalom urged him, he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.
28 And Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “Mark now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Fear not; have not I myself commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.”
29 And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon just as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons rose up and each mounted his mule and fled.
30 And it came to pass while they were on the way that the news came to David, saying, “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left.”
31 Then the king rose up, tore his clothes and lay on the ground; and all his servants were standing by with clothes torn.
32 And Yehnadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, answered and said, “Let not my lord suppose they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for Amnon only is dead; for by the appointment of Absalom this has been determined since the day that he violated his sister Tamar.
33 and now, let not my lord the king take the news to heart, to think, ‘all the king’s sons are dead,’ for only Amnon is dead.”
34 But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept the watch raised his eyes and looked, and behold, there came many people by way of the hillside behind him.
35 Yehnadab said to the king, “Behold, the king’s sons come; as your servant said, so it is.”
36 And as soon as he had ended speaking, behold, the king’s sons came and lifted their voices and wept; and also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.
38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
39 And King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, since he was dead.

CHAPTER 14

Now Yehab the son of Zeruiyah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom,
2 so Yehab sent to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there and said to her, “Please feign yourself to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead many days;
3 then go to the king and speak to him in this manner.” And Yehab put the words in her mouth.
4 And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself and said, “Help, O king.”
5 The king said to her, “What is your trouble?” And she answered, “Truly I am a widow, for my husband is dead.
6 Your handmaid had two sons, but the two of them quarreled in the field, and there was no one to separate them, so one struck the other and killed him.
7 And behold, the whole family has risen against your handmaid, and they say, ‘Give us the one who struck his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also.’ Thus they will quench my coal that remains, so as to leave my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.”
8 The king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give charge concerning you.”
9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “Upon me and my father’s house, O my lord, the king, be the iniquity, but the king and his throne are guiltless.”
10 And the king said, “Whoever speaks to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you anymore.”
11 Then she said, “Please let the king remember YEHOWAH your Elohim, that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, otherwise they will destroy my son.” And he said, “As YEHOWAH lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”
12 Then the woman said, “Please let your handmaid speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.”
13 And the woman said, “Why then have you thought such a thing against the people of Elohim? For in speaking this word the king is as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.
14 For we must surely die, and are as water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. Yet Elohim does not take away life, but plans ways so that the banished one will not be cast out from him.
15 Now therefore, I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, because the people have made me afraid; so your handmaid said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his handmaid.
16 For the king will hear, and deliver his handmaid from the hand of the man who would destroy both me and my son from the inheritance of Elohim.’
17 Then your handmaid said, ‘Please let the word of my lord the king be consoling, for as the angel of Elohim, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil. And may YEHOWAH your Elohim be with you.'”
18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from me the thing I am about to ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king now speak.”
19 So the king said, “Is the hand of Yehab with you in all this?” And the woman said, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. Indeed, it was your servant Yehab who sent me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your handmaid;
20 in order to change the appearance of things your servant Yehab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of Elohim, to know all that is in the earth.”
21 And the king said to Yehab, “Behold now, I have done this thing; go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.”
22 And Yehab fell to the ground on his face, prostrated himself and blessed the king; and Yehab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.”
23 So Yehab rose up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem;
24 but the king said, “Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face.” So Absalom turned to his own house and did not see the king’s face.
25 But in all Israel there was none so highly praised as Absalom, for his beauty; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him.
26 And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year’s end that he shaved, for it was heavy on him, so he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.
27 And to Absalom were begot three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.
28 So Absalom dwelled two full years in Jerusalem, and did not see the king’s face.
29 And Absalom sent for Yehab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. So he sent again a second time, but he would not come.
30 Therefore he said to his servants, “See, Yehab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31 Then Yehab rose up, came to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
32 And Absalom answered Yehab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.”‘ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face, and if there be iniquity in me, let him put me to death.”
33 So Yehab came to the king and told him. And he called for Absalom, and he came to the king, and prostrated himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.

CHAPTER 15

And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men as runners before him.
2 And Absalom rose early and stood beside the way to the gate; and it was so, when anyone had a controversy, to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to them and say, “From what city are you?” And they would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3 Then Absalom would say to them, “See, your matters are good and right, but there is no man to hear you on behalf of the king.”
4 And Absalom would say, “Oh that I were made judge in the land, that everyone with a controversy or cause could come to me and I would do them justice.”
5 And it was so, when anyone came near to prostrate themself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of them and kiss them.
6 In this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole away the hearts of the children of Israel.
7 And it came to pass at the end of forty years, that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to YEHOWAH, in Hebron.
8 For your servant vowed a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If YEHOWAH shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve YEHOWAH.'”
9 And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he rose up and went to Hebron.
10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron.'”
11 And with Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem, who were invited, and who were in their innocence; for they knew nothing.
12 And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city, from Giloh, while he offered the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom.
13 And there came a messenger to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”
14 And David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Rise up and let us flee, or else we will none of us escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart or he will overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
15 Then the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants shall do whatever our lord the king chooses.”
16 And the king went forth, and all his household after him; and the king left ten women, concubines, to keep the house.
17 So the king went forth, and all the people with him, and they stopped at a remote house.
18 And all his servants passed on beside him, all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had come with him from Gath, passed on before the king.
19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Return to your place and abide with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile.
20 You came yesterday, and shall I this day make you go up and down with us, while I go where I will? Return and take back your brothers; mercy and truth be with you.”
21 And Ittai answered the king and said, “As YEHOWAH lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely wherever my lord the king may be, whether in death or life, even there also will be your servant.”
22 And David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones with him.
23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness.
24 And behold, Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of Elohim. And they set down the Ark of Elohim, and Abiathar went up until all the people had passed completely out of the city.
25 The king said to Zadok, “Return the Ark of Elohim to the city. If I shall find favor in the eyes of YEHOWAH, then He will bring me again and show me it and His habitation.
26 But if He should say, ‘I have no delight in you,’ behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.”
27 The king said also to Zadok the priest, “You are a seer! Return to the city in peace and your two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Yehnathan the son of Abiathar.
28 See, I will tarry at the plains of the wilderness, until word comes from you to inform me.”
29 So Zadok and Abiathar returned the Ark of Elohim to Jerusalem and remained there.
30 And David went up by the ascent of Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot. And all the people who were with him each covered his head, and went up weeping as they went.
31 And one told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O YEHOWAH, please make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.”
32 And it came to pass when David had come to the summit, where he worshiped Elohim, that behold, Hushai the Archite met him with his coat torn and dust on his head.
33 David said to him, “If you pass over with me, then you will be a burden to me,
34 but if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so I will now be your servant,’ then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me.
35 And have you not there with you Zadok and Abiathar the priests? Therefore, it shall be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
36 Behold their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Yehnathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything that you hear.”
37 So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

CHAPTER 16

And when David was a little past the summit, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of saddled asses, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine.
2 The king said to Ziba, “What do you mean by these?” And Ziba said, “The asses are for the king’s household to ride, and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine, for whoever is faint in the wilderness to drink.”
3 Then the king said, “And where is your lord’s son?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore me the kingdom of my father.'”
4 So the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I humbly beseech you, that I may find favor in your sight, O my lord, the king!”
5 And when King David came to Bahurim, behold, there came forth a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; and he came forth cursing continually as he came.
6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and at his left.
7 And thus Shimei said when he cursed, “Go away, go away, you man of bloodshed, and man of Belial!
8 YEHOWAH has returned upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and YEHOWAH has given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. And behold, you are in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”
9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over now and cut off his head.”
10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse. If YEHOWAH has told him, ‘Curse David,’ then who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?'”
11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeks my life; how much more now a Benyahminite? Let him alone and let him curse, for YEHOWAH has told him.
12 It may be that YEHOWAH will look on my affliction and turn back good to me for his cursing this day.”
13 So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and threw dust.
14 And the king and all the people who were with him came weary, and refreshed themselves there.
15 Then Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
16 And it came to pass, about when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom that Hushai said to Absalom, “Save the king! Save the king!”
17 Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your kindness to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”
18 Then Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whom YEHOWAH, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain.
19 And again, whom should I serve, if not in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so I will be in your presence.”
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?”
21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself offensive to your father. And the hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.”
22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom upon the roof, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired of the word of Elohim; and so was all the counsel of Ahithophel by both David and Absalom.

CHAPTER 17

And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose twelve thousand men that I may rise up and pursue David tonight.
2 I will come upon him while he is weary and weak and will make him afraid, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king only,
3 and I will bring back all the people to you. The return of everyone depends on the man you seek; and all the people will be at peace.”
4 And the matter pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
5 Then said Absalom, “Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.”
6 When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him, saying, “Ahithophel has spoken after this manner. Shall we carry out his word? If not, you speak.”
7 So Hushai said to Absalom, “The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good.”
8 And Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men; and they are fierce souls, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
9 Behold, he is hid now in one of the caves or in some place; and it will be when he falls on them at the first attack, that whoever hears will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’
10 And even the one who is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men.
11 But I counsel that all Israel be quickly gathered unto you, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that you go into battle personally.
12 So we shall come to him in some place where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will remain.
13 And if he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the river until not even a small stone is found there.”
14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For YEHOWAH had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that YEHOWAH might bring calamity on Absalom.
15 Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “This and this is what Ahithophel counseled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this and this is what I have counseled.
16 Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, ‘Spend not the night at the plains of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, or else the king and all the people who are with him will be destroyed.'”
17 Now Yehnathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, and a handmaid went and told them, and they went and told King David, for they could not be seen entering the city.
18 But a lad did see them and told Absalom; so the two of them departed quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it.
19 And the woman took and spread the covering over the well’s mouth, and scattered grain on it, and the thing was not known.
20 And Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Yehnathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have crossed the brook of water.” And when they searched and could not find, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 And it came to pass after they had departed, that they came up out of the well and went and told King David; and they said to David, “Rise up and cross over the water quickly for thus Ahithophel has counseled against you.”
22 Then David rose up, and all the people with him rose up and crossed the Jordan; and by morning light not even one remained who had not crossed the Jordan.
23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass and rose up, and went to his home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died and was buried in the burying placd of his father.
24 Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
25 And Absalom set Amasa over the army in place of Yehab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Yehab’s mother.
26 And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
27 Now when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the children of Ammon, Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim,
28 brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, parched seeds, beans, lentils, parched wheat,
29 honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people with him, to eat; for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

CHAPTER 18

And David numbered the people who were with him and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds.
2 And David sent the people out, one-third under the command of Yehab, one-third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Yehab’s brother, and one-third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I will surely go forth with you myself as well.”
3 But the people said, “You shall not go forth; for if we indeed flee, they will not care about us; even if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that you prepare to help us from the city.”
4 And the king said to them, “I will do what seems best to you.” So the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by the thousands.
5 And the king charged Yehab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave the captains charge concerning Absalom.
6 And the people went out into the field against Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.
7 And the people of Israel were defeated there before the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, twenty thousand men,
8 for the battle there was spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9 And by chance Absalom found himself in the face of the servants of David. For Absalom was riding on a mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. And his head caught fast in the oak, and he was taken up; left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going.
10 When a certain man saw it, he told Yehab and said, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”
11 And Yehab said to the man who had told him, “Now behold, you saw? Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”
12 The man said to Yehab, “Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not put out my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king charged you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Protect for me the young man Absalom!’
13 Otherwise, I would have dealt treacherously with my own life, for there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.”
14 Then Yehab said, “I will not tarry here with you.” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
15 And ten young men who carried Yehab’s armor gathered around and struck Absalom and killed him.
16 And Yehab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Yehab restrained the people.
17 And they took Absalom and cast him into a deep pit in the forest, and erected over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled, each to his tent.
18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar, which is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to preserve my name.” So he named the pillar after his own name, and it is called to this day Absalom’s place.
19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, “Please let me run now and proclaim to the king the news that YEHOWAH has avenged him from the hand of his enemies,”
20 but Yehab said to him, “You shall not be the bearer of news this day, but you shall announce the news another day; but today you shall proclaim no news, because the king’s son is dead.”
21 Then Yehab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed to Yehab and ran.
22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, once more to Yehab, “Whatever may be, please let me also run after the Cushite.” And Yehab said, “Why would you run, my son, seeing as you have no news to present?”
23 “But whatever may be, I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and overcame the Cushite.
24 And David sat between the two gates. And the watchmen went up on the roof of the gate, by the wall, and raised their eyes, and looked, and behold, a man running alone.
25 And a watchman called and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone there is good news in his mouth.” And he came nearer and nearer.
26 Then the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “Behold, another man running alone.” And the king said, “This one also is bringing good news.”
27 And the watchman said, “I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “This is a good man and comes with good news.”
28 Ahimaaz called and said to the king, “All is well.” And he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. And he said, “Blessed is YEHOWAH your Elohim, who has delivered up the men who lifted their hands against my lord the king.”
29 And the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Yehab sent the king’s servant, and your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what.”
30 Then the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.
31 Behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Let my lord the king receive good tidings, for YEHOWAH has avenged you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you.”
32 Then the king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “Let the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be as that young man!”
33 And the king was much moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

CHAPTER 19

And it was told Yehab, “Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Absalom.”
2 And the victory that day was turned to mourning for all the people, for the people heard said that day, “The king grieves for his son.”
3 So the people withdrew by stealth that day into the city, as people steal away ashamed when they flee in battle.
4 And the king covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
5 Then Yehab came into the house to the king and said, “You have shamed this day the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life, and the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines;
6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have shown this day that princes and servants are nothing to you. For this day I know that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, then it would have been pleasing in your eyes.
7 Now therefore go forth and speak from your heart to your servants, for I swear by YEHOWAH, if you do not go forth, there will not remain one man with you this night; and that will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
8 So the king rose up and sat in the gate, and they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the king, for Israel had fled, each to his tent.
9 And all the people were at strife throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, and delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.
10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now then, why are you silent about bringing the king back?”
11 Then King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Yehudah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the word of all Israel has come to the king, to his house?
12 You are my brothers; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’
13 “Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May Elohim do so to me, and more also, if you not be captain of the host before me continually in place of Yehab.'”
14 And he bowed the hearts of all the men of Yehudah as one man, so that they sent to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.”
15 The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And Yehudah came to Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to bring the king across the Jordan.
16 And Shimei the son of Gera, the Benyahminite who was from Bahurim, hastened and came down with the men of Yehudah to meet King David.
17 There were a thousand men of Benyahmin with him, with Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.
18 And there went over a ferry to carry over the king’s household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was about to cross the Jordan,
19 and he said to the king, “Let not my lord consider me evil, nor remember that which your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king came out from Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart.
20 For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Yehoseph to go down to meet my lord the king.”
21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, “Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed YEHOWAH’S anointed?”
22 David then said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be an adversary to me? Should any man be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am king over Israel this day?”
23 And the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” Thus the king swore to him.
24 Then Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came in peace.
25 And it came to pass, when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”
26 And he answered, “O my lord, the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, ‘I will saddle an ass, that I may ride on it and go with the king,’ because your servant is lame.
27 And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like the angel of Elohim, do therefore, what is good in your eyes.
28 For all within my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right therefore, have I, that I should cry anymore to the king?”
29 So the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have decided, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.'”
30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come safely to his own house.”
31 Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; and he went on to the Jordan with the king to escort him over the Jordan.
32 Now Barzillai was very old, being eighty years old; and he had sustained the king while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man.
33 And the king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I will sustain you in Jerusalem with me.”
34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I yet to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
35 I am now eighty years old. Can I distinguish between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I hear anymore the voice of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?
36 Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward?
37 Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But behold, here is your servant Chimham, let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your eyes.”
38 The king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your eyes; and whatever you require of me, I will do for you.”
39 And all the people crossed over the Jordan, and the king crossed over, and the king then kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place.
40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Yehudah and also half the people of Israel accompanied the king.
41 And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why had our brethren, the men of Yehudah, stolen you away, and brought the king and his household, and all David’s men with him over the Jordan?”
42 And all the men of Yehudah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then are you angry for this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense, or has he given us any gift?”
43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Yehudah and said, “We have ten parts in the king, therefore we also have more on David than you. Why then did you slight us? Was it not our advice first to bring back our king?” Yet the words of the men of Yehudah were fiercer than those of the men of Israel.

CHAPTER 20

And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benyahminite; and he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!”
2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Yehudah clung to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard, and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows.
4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call to me the men of Yehudah in three days, and you be present here also.”
5 So Amasa went to call out Yehudah, but he delayed longer than the set time that he had appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, “Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than Absalom; take your lord’s servants and pursue him, unless he find for himself fortified cities and escape from our sight.”
7 And there went out after him Yehab’s men, along with the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men; and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
8 When they were at the great stone, which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Yehab was girded with his clothing, his coat and his armor, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened at his waist; and as he went forward, it fell out.
9 And Yehab said to Amasa, “Are you well, my brother?” And Yehab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him,
10 but Amasa took no heed of the sword that was in Yehab’s hand, and he struck him in the belly with it and poured out his inward parts on the ground, and did not strike him again, and he died. Then Yehab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 And there stood by him one of Yehab’s young men, and said, “He that favors Yehab and whoever is for David, follow Yehab.”
12 But Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway, and when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa from the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still.
13 When he was removed from the highway, all the men passed on after Yehab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri,
14 who went through all the tribes of Israel, to Abel, even Beth-Maachah, and all the Berites; and they were gathered together and also followed after him.
15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-Maachah, and they cast up a siege ramp against the city, and it stood by the rampart; and all the people who were with Yehab battered the wall to throw it down.
16 Then a wise woman called out from the city, “Hear, hear! Please tell Yehab, ‘Come here that I may speak with you.'”
17 And he came near to her, and the woman said, “Are you Yehab?” And he answered, “I.” Then she said to him, “Hear the words of your handmaid.” And he answered, “I do hear.”
18 Then she spoke, saying, “They were known to speak in the old time, saying, ‘They will surely ask advice at Abel,’ and thus they ended their disputes.
19 I am peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city, even a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of YEHOWAH?”
20 And Yehab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy!
21 But the matter is not so. A man from the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Only give him up, and I will depart from the city.” And the woman said to Yehab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”
22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it to Yehab. And he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, each to his tent. Yehab also returned to the king at Jerusalem.
23 And Yehab was over all the host of Israel, and Benayah the son of Yehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
24 and Adoram was over the forced labor, and Yehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
25 and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
26 and Ira the Jairite was also a priest to David.

CHAPTER 21

And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of YEHOWAH, And YEHOWAH said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had covenanted with them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Yehudah).
3 So David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you, and with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of YEHOWAH?”
4 And the Gibeonites said to him, “As to Saul and his house, we have no want of silver or gold, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”
5 So they said to the king, “The man who consumed us and who planned to exterminate us from remaining within any border of Israel,
6 let seven men of his sons be given to us, and we will hang them unto YEHOWAH in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of YEHOWAH.” And the king said, “I will give.”
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Yehnathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of YEHOWAH that was between them, between David and Saul’s son Yehnathan.
8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Armoni and Mephibosheth whom she had begot to Saul, and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had begot to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
9 And he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hung them on the hill before YEHOWAH. And they fell all seven together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.
10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped on them from the sky; and she allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And when it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done,
12 then David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Yehnathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the open square of Beth-shean, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day the Philistines struck down Saul in Gilboa.
13 And he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Yehnathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged,
14 and they buried them with the bones of Saul and Yehnathan his son in the country of Benyahmin in Zelah, in the burying place of Kish his father; thus they did all that the king commanded, and after that Elohim listened to the prayers for the land.
15 And the Philistines were at war again with Israel, and David went down, and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.
16 Then Ishbi-benob, who was of the seed of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, was girded with a new sword, and he intended to kill David.
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah protected him, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore unto him, saying, “You shall go no more out with us to battle, that you not extinguish the light of Israel.”
18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a war with the Philistines, at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was of the seed of the giant.
19 And there was war again with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
20 And there was war at Gath again, where there was a man of stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been begot by the giant.
21 And when he defied Israel, Yehnathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down.
22 These four were begot to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

CHAPTER 22

And David spoke the words of this song to YEHOWAH in the day that YEHOWAH delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said, ” YEHOWAH is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3 my Elohim, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my savior, You save me from violence.
4 I will call upon YEHOWAH, who is worthy to be praised, and so shall I be saved from my enemies.
5 When the waves of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction terrified me;
6 the cords of hell surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me;
7 in my distress I called upon YEHOWAH, and I cried to my Elohim; and He heard my voice from His temple; my cry for help came into His ears.
8 Then the earth shook and trembled, the foundations of heaven trembled and shook, because He was angry.
9 Smoke went up out of His nostrils, fire from His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.
10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet.
11 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; and He appeared on the wings of the wind.
12 And He made darkness pavilions around Him, a mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.
13 Through the brightness before Him coals of fire were kindled.
14 YEHOWAH thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice.
15 And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, lightning, and consumed them.
16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were uncovered by the rebuke of YEHOWAH, by the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but YEHOWAH was my support.
20 And He brought me forth into a large place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.
21 YEHOWAH has rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of YEHOWAH, and have not wickedly departed from my Elohim.
23 For all His judgments are before me, and His statutes, I did not depart from them.
24 And I was upright before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 Therefore YEHOWAH has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness before His eyes.
26 With the kind You show Yourself kind, with the upright You show Yourself upright;
27 with the pure You show Yourself pure, and with the perverse You show Yourself unsavoury.
28 And the afflicted people You save; but Your eyes are on the proud, whom You bring low.
29 For You are my lamp, O YEHOWAH; and YEHOWAH illuminates my darkness.
30 For by You I can run upon a troop; by my Elohim I can leap over a wall.
31 As for Elohim, His way is perfect; the word of YEHOWAH is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32 For who is El, besides YEHOWAH? And who is a rock, besides our Elohim?
33 Elohim is my strength and stronghold; and He sets the blameless in His way.
34 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and sets me on my high places.
35 He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of brass.
36 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your help makes me great.
37 You have enlarged my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped.
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and I did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 And I have consumed them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; and they fell under my feet.
40 For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
41 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, and I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They looked, but there was none to save; to YEHOWAH, but He did not answer them.
43 Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth; I crushed and hammered them as the mire of the streets.
44 You have also delivered me from the striving of my people; You have kept me as head of the nations; a people whom I have not known serve me.
45 Foreigners submit themselves to me; as soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 Foreigners wilt, and come trembling out of their fortresses.
47 YEHOWAH lives, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be Elohim, the rock of my salvation,
48 The El who avenges me, and brings down the people under me,
49 who brings me forth from my enemies; You even lift me above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O YEHOWAH, among the nations, and I will sing praises to Your name.
51 He is a tower of deliverance to His king, and shows lovingkindness to His anointed, to David and his seed forevermore.”

CHAPTER 23

Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse says, the man who was raised on high says, the anointed of the Elohim of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel says,
2 “The Spirit of YEHOWAH spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.
3 The Elohim of Israel said, the Rock of Israel said to me, ‘He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of Elohim,
4 is as the light of the morning when the sun rises, even a morning without clouds, when from the sunshine after rain, the tender grass springs forth from the earth.’
5 Although my house was not so with El, yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged in every way, and sure; for all my deliverance, and all my desire; and will He not indeed make it grow?
6 But those of Belial, every one of them will be thrust away like thorns, because they cannot be taken with hands;
7 but the man that touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they will be completely burned with fire in their place.”
8 These are the names of the mighty men of David: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time;
9 and after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had gone away.
10 And he rose up and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and YEHOWAH brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to take the spoil.
11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines.
12 But he stood in the midst of the plot, defended it, and struck the Philistines; and YEHOWAH brought about a great victory.
13 And three of the thirty captains went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
14 And David was then in a stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15 And David wished for, and said; “Oh that one would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”
16 So the three mighty men broke through the encampment of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem, which was by the gate, and took, and brought it to David. However, he would not drink it, but poured it out to YEHOWAH;
17 and he said, “Be it far from me, O YEHOWAH, that I should do this. Is it not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
18 Abishai, the brother of Yehab, the son of Zeruiah, was captain of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred; slain, and had a name as well as the three.
19 He was most honored of the thirty, therefore he became their captain; however, he did not attain to the three.
20 Then Benayah the son of Yehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; and killed two of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.
21 And he killed an Egyptian, an imposing man. And the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.
22 These things did Benayah the son of Yehoiada, and he had a name among the three mighty men.
23 He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David put him over his guard.
24 Asahel the brother of Yehab was among the thirty; and Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,
29 Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benyahmin,
30 Benayah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,
31 Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Yehnathan,
33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite,
34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
35 Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearers of Yehab the son of Zeruiah,
38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
39 Uriyah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.

CHAPTER 24

And again the anger of YEHOWAH was kindled against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Yehudah.”
2 The king said to Yehab, the captain of the host who was with him, “Please go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”
3 But Yehab said to the king, “May YEHOWAH your Elohim add to the people a hundred-fold, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?”
4 Nonetheless, the king’s word prevailed against Yehab and against the captains of the host, so Yehab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.
5 And they crossed the Jordan and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and toward Jazer.
6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon,
7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Yehudah, to Beersheba.
8 So when they had gone about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 And Yehab gave the number of the census of the people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Yehudah were five hundred thousand men.
10 And David’s heart troubled him after he had counted the people. So David said to YEHOWAH, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. And now, please, O YEHOWAH, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”
11 And when David rose up in the morning, the word of YEHOWAH came to the prophet Gad, David’s prophet, saying,
12 “Go and say unto David, ‘Thus YEHOWAH says, “I offer you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”‘”
13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your enemies while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.”
14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of YEHOWAH for His compassion is great, but do not let me fall into the hands of man.”
15 So YEHOWAH sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem, to destroy it, YEHOWAH repented him of the evil, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Withdraw now your hand!” And the angel of YEHOWAH was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 And David spoke to YEHOWAH when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have acted wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, please, be against me and against my father’s house.”
18 And Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar unto YEHOWAH on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 And David went up according to the word of Gad, as YEHOWAH had commanded.
20 And Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king.
21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar unto YEHOWAH, that the plague may be held back from the people.”
22 And Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.
23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May YEHOWAH your Elohim accept you.”
24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to YEHOWAH my Elohim which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built there an altar unto YEHOWAH and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And prayer for the land moved YEHOWAH, and the plague was held back from Israel.